'T20 WC could act as catalyst for Western Australia’s tourism'

CHENNAI: Western Australia Minister for Sport and Recreation David Templeman in Chennai on Monday

Western Australia Minister for Sport and Recreation David Templeman said that the upcoming T20 World Cup would act as a catalyst for the state’s tourism.

The multi-purpose Optus Stadium in Perth will host five ‘Super 12’ matches during the showpiece, which will be held between October 16 and November 13. “Absolutely. We are proud to be part of the T20 WC. It is going to be a magnificent spectacle. We hope people from around the world come to Perth to experience it,” Templeman told DT Next on the sidelines of the ‘Western Australia Investment and Trade Dinner’ at a city hotel on Monday.

“We have a magnificent stadium. It has played host to a number of great matches [in different sports]. Cricket is going to be pretty special.” The India-South Africa fixture on October 30 is among five matches that have been scheduled at the Optus Stadium.

Templeman referred to the contest as a “massive” one. “Both teams are competitive and are very exciting to watch. The Indian community in Western Australia would be flocking to watch that match. We would love to see fans from India fly [to Perth] to see their national team do brilliantly at the T20 WC.”

Asked if the Government of Western Australia has struck any latest partnership with Indian sporting organisations or federations, Templeman responded: “Traditionally, we (Western Australia and India) have had very good relationships. We would like to build on that. Both of us love sports. We have had good conversations with senior people in a number of sports. We feel that there is a great opportunity for us to assist in high-performance support. We also believe that there are great opportunities to look for exchange programmes.”

He added: “We have a high-performance hockey centre in Perth, where we think there are opportunities. The Indian Super League is a good place to be in for our footballers (some clubs have Aussie players as their Asian signings). In general, we have had good conversations. There will be more of them in the future.”